


Children

by generalkenobi715



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/generalkenobi715/pseuds/generalkenobi715
Summary: We don't really get enough quality time with Anakin and Padme in ROTS, so here's a little something I thought was kinda cute but will also 100% break your heart worse than JJ Abrams broke mine :'))
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Children

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at 2 am while crying after watching Revenge of the Sith for the 3874th time. Read at your own emotional risk

Anakin jerked awake, sitting straight up in bed. It took all the consciousness he could muster to stifle his own screams, his breathing heavy and panicked. He shivered, realizing he was drenched in sweat. 

Instinctively, he looked over to where his wife was sleeping. Making sure she was there. Making sure she was alright.

He was so sick of watching her die.

He was able to slow his breathing slightly, resting his head in his hands. Weeks of this. Ever since Padme had told him about the baby. The panic he had felt in that moment at the Senate building seemed like an irrelevant anxiety, now. How could he fear something like expulsion from the Order when his family’s lives were at stake?

He turned his head back to look at Padme again. She was turned toward him, still sleeping peacefully. That kind of rest was harder for her to find these days. Harder to find for the both of them.

It was in moments like these that he dreaded having to sneak back to the Temple in the morning, to trade the warmth of her bed for a mat on the floor. To trade her comfort for isolation. God, she was beautiful. Leaving her never got easier, even if only for a day. Especially now, with their future so uncertain.

He worked a piece of her hair through his fingers and allowed his mind to wander. He knew if Greivous wasn’t found in the next few weeks, the council would start giving out deployments. To Obi-wan, and to him. He had yet to figure out what he’d do then. He had time, he knew, before the baby was born. At least a month or two. But what if something happened before then? He already felt guilty for being away, oblivious, while she was left to deal with all the anxiety and uncertainty on her own, afraid to tell him, for she knew his duty came first - at least to everyone else. What if the baby was born, and he missed it? What if Padme was alone, in all that pain?   
What if Padme died because he wasn’t there?

He shivered at the thought. He’d find a way. Rex would cover for them, or at least he’d try. He let himself think of Obi-wan for a moment, then quickly came to the same conclusion he always did; he would never know how to begin to tell Obi-wan. It would be too painful for the both of them.

Anakin would never admit it to himself, but deep down, he sensed Obi-wan already knew.

Anakin moved his hand from Padme’s hair down to her stomach, letting his fingers rest gently there. It was hard, in moments like these, not to let his mind jump too far ahead. Even if he could save Padme, what then? What would become of them? Would he have the resolve to leave the Order, to leave Obi-wan, to leave the only life he’d ever known? Or would his family be torn apart before they even began?

Tears pricked at his eyes as he ran his hand back and forth. He loved Padme more than he could bear, and he would do anything, anything for their child. He didn’t know it was possible to love someone this much, especially someone he hadn’t met. He wanted nothing more than a good life for their baby - a life away from the war, a life devoid of all the pain he’d felt. All he’d lost.   
He couldn’t lose them, too.

As he let his hand come to a rest, he inhaled quickly as he felt something he wasn’t quite used to yet. The pressure against his hand made all of this so real - more real than the Jedi, or the war. His child was there, breathing, aware of his touch. He smiled. A sad smile, but a gentle one.

He adjusted himself, laying down on his side and bringing his head down closer to Padme’s stomach. He moved his hand, and again felt a push against the flat of his palm.   
Kid really knew how to pack a punch.   
Obviously, Padme thought so too. He heard her stir slightly, and remained where he was as he felt her hand run through his hair. She brought the other down to her abdomen, just above where Anakin’s was resting. 

“Your son knows how to give me hell, that’s for sure.” He could hear the groggy laughter in her voice. For all the discomfort, he knew she loved this just as much as he did.

“My daughter, you mean.”

He was convinced they were having a baby girl. Actually, convinced wasn’t the right word - he knew they were.

Padme laughed, rolling her eyes.   
“Yes, how could I ever forget.”

Anakin smiled wider this time, resting his forehead against the spot he’d last felt the baby kick. Our daughter. It was in moments like this that he could forget their lives and their complications. He could forget the danger, forget the war, forget what others would perceive as a mistake.   
The tears dried, and all that remained was his tiny family. 

Despite the circumstances, it was all he had ever wanted.

“If she’s your daughter, what’s her name?”

He looked up at Padme as she said it. If nothing else made this feel real, that sentence did. He smiled again, not saying a word as he sat up and took Padme in his arms. He looked down at his hand, resting near his daughter’s head, then looked down into the eyes of the woman he loved. In the back of his mind, he heard the voice of a small boy, so familiar yet so far away.   
“Are you an angel?”

“Well?” Padme was teasing him now. “What is it?”

But he was serious.  
“Leia.”

Padme looked slightly surprised, then looked down to where Anakin’s hand was resting. “Leia.” She smiled. “What does it mean?”

Anakin lifted his hand and brought it to her face, moving the hair out of her eyes. He didn’t think he could love her any more than he did, but in moments like these, he was always proven wrong.

He grinned as he said it. “Child of heaven.”

Padme smiled, and he could tell she heard that same boy’s voice, too. A boy she’d known so long ago - a boy she’d watched grow, and had grown to love.  
“I can see there’s no room for alternatives.”

Anakin let out a soft laugh. “Not a chance.”

“Then Leia it is.” Padme rested her head against Anakin’s shoulder. She felt safest there. “But I still think it’s a boy.” 

Anakin laughed again. “Then tell me, your highness, what we’ll call our son.”  
Our son.

It didn’t take Padme long to answer. “Luke. If it’s a boy, Luke.”

Anakin sat still for a moment. He’d heard that name before, somewhere in the depths of his dreams.   
He didn’t need to ask Padme why. “Light-giver”. A beacon of hope in a time of darkness. 

The tears were back, but they were happy this time.

His voice broke a bit as he tried to respond. “Luke is perfect.”

She didn’t say anything, sombered in their understanding. She simply stroked his hand with her fingers, in love for what lay underneath. 

It was Anakin who broke the silence.   
“I love them so much, Padme. More than I ever could’ve imagined.”

She smiled. With all that lay ahead of them, having him here, not only to ease her burden, but to share in the love she felt for their child... it was all she needed.

“And I love you both.”

And there they remained, brought together from across the stars. The darkness keeping them safe for just a while longer, a beacon of love in a world of conflict. And it was the darkness that lulled them back to sleep: the chosen one, the angel, the child of heaven, and the giver of light, four hearts beating as one.


End file.
